Newly hired Sixers coach Brett Brown gave quite an introduction to himself yesterday at the Wells Fargo Center. Only a handful of media members were able to get down to the WFC in the short-notice the team gave them for the special occasion (something the Sixers are becoming notorious for doing now), but Brown gave fans and media alike what they’ve been waiting for this summer.

With long-winded responses and a thick Boston accent, Brown for the first time this offseason hinted at Hinkie’s plan and what it’s going to take the Sixers to climb the mountaintop for an NBA title.

He talked rebuilding, he talked development, he talked patience, he talked fitness and growth. He’s letting fans know now that they’re in for a bumpy ride, but one that has the shot at great results.

As he put it at one point in the presser, “Can you imagine if we can get this thing right? Really. If we can get this right with the culture and the history that this city has and the pride and the toughness that this city has, that is very luring. It’s tempting and there were times that I wasn’t sure, based on what I had, if I wanted to chance it and I think this is a very high, calculated chance.”

Notice how Brown didn’t use the word risk, but chance. Risk is a word that assumes danger and failure, chance is a word that assumes possibility and, in Brown’s belief, very high possibility.

In Brown’s position, you have to believe. He sees the skill of Thaddeus Young, the potential in Evan Turner, the “versatility” of Spencer Hawes and the endless possibilities for Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams. He understands that it’s going to take probably three years before the Sixers can do some damage as a team. He even said during the presser that he wouldn’t have accepted the offer as coach, unless it was the four years he was allotted to instill his systems and beliefs into his players. He wants to be the guy to turn things around.

There’s a lot to like about Brown, I can only hope for him that it will all work out.

He’ll have to get his players to listen to him, even when times are tough. He’ll have his work cut out for him in developing Nerlens Noel and Michael Carter-Williams into not only physically NBA athletes, but mentally as well. He’ll have to understand that names like Evan Turner and Spencer Hawes might not be around too much longer, with Sam Hinkie as your GM and each of them on expiring contracts. He’ll have to understand that the fans of the team he’s coaching have grown tired of the organization and it’s going to take a lot of trust-building to bring them back in.

It’s a lot for a first time head coach to deal with. It’s a happy marriage now, but as the losses start to mount and emotions start to run high that’s when Brown’s really going to have to ask if he still wants it. What if the “chance” that Brown sees right now starts becoming more and more risky?

He wants the Sixers to be a team that gets out on the run, limits turnovers and stresses defense. No offense to Brown, but doesn’t that sound like a coach who just manned the throne back in April? I’m not saying that Brown is similar to Doug Collins at all, but what I am saying is that it’s hard as an older coach (especially for a young team) to connect with your players and get them to listen. If Collins wasn’t able to connect with this team in a similar situation, what makes people so positive that Brown will?

One of the strongest parts of the press conference in my eyes was towards the end. Brown talked of the success that the San Antonio Spurs had during his time as an assistant. He then compared that level of success to where the Sixers are now.

“It is such a long ways away, in my eyes (an NBA title),” Brown said. “There is so much work that has to be done in order to even think about that. It’s fair to dream, it’s fair to think about it, but geez, there’s so much work and so much luck that we’re all going to have to have to get to that level. It’s a great place to think and aspire to get to, but it’s a long road.”

That about sums up the current state of the Sixers. There’s so much time, so much work and so much luck that must enter the equation for the Sixers to contend again. I like Brett Brown and want him to succeed, but the task at hand could be too large to overcome.

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He took the 4 years because he knows that that’s the year when we will really know if we have a serious contender or not. To say he’s not gonna last when “the losses start to mount and emotions start to run high” is just silly to me. We all know that everyone is expecting this team to lose.

I believe he is the right guy to coach this team. But like Mr. Brown said, “It’s a PRO-cess.” These first two years will be tough, but the two after that, if we build this team correctly, will be really fun to watch all our young talent start to come together.

What I’m trying to say is that it may be a happy marriage now, but what if the Sixers don’t get the picks they want? What happens if the losses are still mounting in year 3? What if Noel is never the same player and MCW never finds a shot or the ability to control the ball? Would you want to waste four years coaching a team that’s heading into a downward spiral? Wouldn’t you want to try and get out in year 3 if things seem to be turning for the worst?

Year 3 is when all the questions will be answered, but you can’t necessarily build a team correctly unless you get the players you need. Talent wins basketball games and the Sixers drafted two question marks this season already. They can’t miss next year or else things could get really ugly again. Cap room can only take you so far. I still question getting rid of Jrue until I see Andrew Wiggins in a Sixers uniform.

People seem to forget that there are other teams in the NBA. Does anyone IN THE WORLD think there is a good chance that Philly is better than Orlando in 4 years? Or Cleveland? Or Detroit? Or Washington?

Hinkie got lucky to start with that New Orleans trade. And it was PURE DUMB LUCK. It wasn’t even a bad trade for New Orleanss until the Pelicans GM picked Tyreke Evans over Vasquez+Robin Lopez+$3.7 million in cap space, which would have been more than enough to grab a guy like Dorell Wright who would start at Small Forward on 1/2 of the teams in the NBA.

Vasquez, Jrue, Gordon, Rivers, Aminu, Wright, RAnderson, Brow, Lopez, Jason Smith is actually a good NBA team and the 76ers end up with a non lottery pick

Sam Hinkie is a genius, and yet he let an All-NBA Center and a SF who would start on HALF the teams in the NBA walk in free agency while taking the easiest and yet most variance ridden road to GLORY as his FIRST move.

Call me a non believer, but I guess making the playoffs in 2017 will make it all work it

I don’t think Brown is the type of coach who would give up after three years. He knows he’s getting a horrible team. He knows they are aiming for a big pick. He know they traded their All-Star for a guy that might not play until January. This year is a wash.

Year two is the start. We get two first round draft picks in a great draft and tons of cap space. He’ll have to be better. There’s no way we can’t.

In year three he’ll actually have some young guys that can play, a GM that is smarter than most, and an owner that is willing to invest in making his team better (just think about the practice facility. Strictly a loss in money aimed at making a better team). Both the GM and owner know what they are doing and aren’t going to blame Brown for next year’s losses.

Remember, Brown was an assistant with one of the greatest coaches of all time. Do you think he could have survived there as a guy that gave up? Look, I know what you’re saying, but my gut says he’s the type of guy (based on his years under Pop) that it’s about making the right moves, and the results are just the results. It’s more about the process.

Steve,

Bynum is a bum. Cleveland got a great deal on him because no one wanted him and they didn’t get a first hand look at how degenerative his knees are.

And who said Wright would have signed here? Wright doesn’t have room left on his nuts with you hanging from them, where could Hinkie have grabbed on to?

Steve,
You are a walking contradiction. All you said all last year is that Bynum wouldn’t make a big difference in the team and now that he’s gone he’s a difference maker once again. You are the ultimate hater unless you are running the team into the ground things will never be good enough for you. You called the jrue trade one of the best in nba history now it’s dumb luck you are a flat out joke.